Toe protector



Jan. 5 1926. 1,568,706

R. H. ANDERSON ToE PROTECTOR Filed June 24, 1924 5mm/nm J/Tnclemong @gv/@W .www

Patented Jan. 5, 1926'.

UNIT ED STATES IcoY- H., ANDERSON; .oryALLnN'rowm PENNSYLvAN-mamremon onformfmnrfro; 11.-.l GIBSON HAs'rrNoson ynLLEN'ro.,W'N; r-nNNmrLvmrrAgtnNnfA. rrannnnmzmorr;

F .'REILAIDELPHIA', PENNSYLVANIA;

application mea lumai, 1an;- sefir mi va'gds-.r

TeaM/whom z'tfmay concern:

Be itk known thatV I, Roy I-I'; ANDERSON,-` a' citizen of the United"States,.and'resident of? Allentown', in the county' of? Lehigh"I and 5. State of Pennsylvania,havewinvented cera' tain new andusefu'l Improvementsin-Y Toe' Protectors, of 'which the. followingisv a specification.

My invention relates to toeV protectors for shoe solesandghas particular reference., to improvements'4 in 'toe' protectors of thekind illustrated,` described;` and; claimed. in. my.

prior .Patents 1,403,474 an'd"1',4 20,302.`

a toeprotector consisting of 'a' metallic mehr-w ber including a base portion adaptedtounf tion adapted to, embrace the' edge of "the` sole,

Patent 1,420,302 I also disclosed vmeans, whereby theprotector might be adjusted-"tog` fit' toeportions of shoersoles of different sizes, said means consistingofaw slit' lfr'irm'ed' in the base portion ofthe protector tapering fromvthe rear ofthe base portiontowards its front, so that the sidey portions might be spreadf'apart to fit the protector to a Wide sole, or moved together to -fit the protector toaa narrow sole'.v I have-found, however,- that the provision; of adjusting means of this kind' weakens vthe protector,

detracts lfrom vits appearance and otherwise l is' disadvantageous, exceptv when theprotector isadjusted to its narrowest proportions with thefside" walls formed bythe-re;

cess in l the" base portion' ,abutting one v another. to lendf strengthgto the device, as otherwise the corner 'portions of the base adjacent* tothe recess' areliable to become bent'- away yfrom the vsole and'mar'floors, become caught in carpets, rugs etc. .and cause generaldiscomfort to `the wearer. It therefore is my presentpurposeto provide means.

of animproved nature that, withoutdef` tractingY from the appearance of or appreciably weakening the protector, will permit adjustments to be made therein and vwill overcome all disadvantages heretofore experienced as aresult of the corner portions of the base becoming bent outwardly adjacent to the recess therein.

Additional improvements incorporated in In my aforesaid prior, patents Idisclo'sedi my present protector consist .rin .frmigj the baself lportion with`- ai cdnveircurve A btlln g'rtudinalTy` and transversely wI-ie'rebyl all" portions of Lth'e protector; coliform to and; t most' perfectly over soles thatk varefcu'rverli in similar fashion, 'andlin 'theiprovisin of? 60 an insert plate' fcnquickly andeieiently building up excessively'r worn' toe.' portibls of "soles:

With the foregoing# and other p'jurpo'siesin View'mylinventionljconsists iinthe nox'ielfreakV tures of' construction andarrangernent". as willy ben h'ereinaftery more fllysl described;. illustrated in the accompa nying`I drawings and defined? in the: appended `vclaims;

In' the drawings", wherein .like characters of referenced/(anote corresponding parts in the different" views" i Figure lisa perspective'oflthejtoepor# tion .of a shoe* showing; myr improvedpr'o# tectorl applied l Figure 2,'"an"P enlarged p lfanwiew ofthe protector: looking toward'-its` inner side; l Figure3a Vview similar to F i, g`," 1irev.2l show.- ing' the' protector after an'adju'stment has been made'th'rein; 80

F1gur`e'4; 'ya view. similar to Figures 2 and 3 showing another adjustment ofthe protector?.

l'gurem 5,i anl '.enlarg'ed detail section on" thelin'eY 545 of Figuref2`g'y Figure 6',' an edgej view'ofthe' protector' lookingrbwm-ds che frammenti; and

Figure 7,v a f central longitudinal section throu htheprotector: Y Y

Re erringun'ow 'to thev drawing., inr detail," 90 10 7designates generallya' shoe.. an'dll. theesoleY thereof, with" the toe' portionioffwli'ich .i myf improved protector' A is' adapted` for. association? Protector Afconsist'sofalmetallic member including a basel portion 12' corresponding Q in shape-'and substantiallfcorresponding'fin"J size to the to'ej p ortioritzo 'the'..sole'to'which' it is'fto' -be applic-dj said :lbaseportion p reff erablybeing thicker'atits' fronti-than at its* '100 rear thin edge as and. for the purpose forth in my prior patents aforementioned, although it is not necessarily of this construction since the entire protector may be stamped from metal of uniform thickness as will hereinafter become manifest.

Rising from the base portion 12 is a vertical side portion 13 of a height correspond- 2 l Meegos ing to the thickness of the sole, the edge of the toe portion of which it is` adapted to embrace and extending inwardly from the top of said side portion is a flange 14 of any suitable width for engagement with the upper faceof the sole to assist nails or screws that are passed through openings in the base portion into the sole in securing the protector thereon.

As is understood my protectors are formed in different sizes to tit different standard sizes of shoe soles, but it happens that adjustments of the `protectors are necessary quite frequently to lit them properly with soles of odd sizes, and in order to Vprovide an arrangement that will not detract from the appearance of the protector or appreciably weaken same, and to eliminate as far as possiblethe liability of corner portions of the base thereof becoming bent outwardly into position where they might become engaged with carpets, mar floors etc. and cause discomfort generally to the wearer, I slot the base portion as at 15 from a. point near the front thereof to a point inwardly of, but near the rear thereof, and on the inner face of the base I form ke'rfs 16 that extend from the rear edge of the base to the adjacent end of the slot 15 whereby weakened lines are formed along which the base portion is adapted to be divided to permit the side portions of the protector to be moved towards one another with the result that the protector is slightly reduced in size.

As will be noted from Figure 2 of the drawings the slot 15 diverges towards the `rear of the protector as do the kerfs 16 with respect to one another, the side walls of the slot and the kerfs all radiating from a central point near the front of the protector. The lrerfs are formed in pairs with one of each pair on opposite sides of a medial longitudinal line through the center of the base, so that by removing the metal between the innermost pair of kerfs a predetermined amount of inward adjustment of the vertical side portions with respect to one another is permitted, such adjustment being limited of course by the walls of the recess formed by the removed metal coming into contact with one another as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. If a greater amount of inward adjustment is desired, the metal between the next pair of kerfs is removed and so on, it being understood that as many pairs of kerfs as desired may be provided, although only two pairs are shown in the present instance.

By providing an adjusting means as mentioned, I assure that the abutment of the Walls of the recess in the base portion at the rear of the latter regardless of what the amount of the adjustment might be which abutment lends stength to the otherwise separated portions of the base and to a considerable extent overcomes the liability of the corner portions of the base adjacent to the recess becoming bent outwardly as is manifest. Furthermore, the outer face of the base portion always pesents an uninterrupted surface except for the slot 15 which of course enhances the appearance of the device over similar devices where the slot 15 extends entirely to and through the rear detining edge of the base portion.

As best shown in Figures 6 and 7, I convexly curve the base portion both longitudinally and transversely, so that it will conform to the usual curvature of a shoe sole and so that it will rock or roll on the surface over which a person may be walking whereby all disagreeable clicking noises heretofore experienced with protectors having a Hat or substantially fiat under face are eliminated.

I claim 1. A toe protector for shoe soles consisting of a metallic member having a base portion adapted to underlie the sole, said base portion having a slot formed therein ei;- tending from a point near the front of the base to a point inwardly of the rear edge of the base thereby to provide a web portion between the rear edge of the base and the adjacent end of said slot adapted to be cut away to permit the sides of the protector to be moved together for purposes of adjusting the protector to sizes smaller than its original side.

A toe protector for shoe soles consisting of a metallic member having a base portion adapted to underlie the sole, said base portion having a slot formed therein extending from a point near the front of the base to a point inwardly of the rear edge of the base thereby to provide a web portion between the rear edge of the base and the adjacent end of said slot adapted to be cut away to permit the sides of the protector to be moved together for purposes of adjusting the protector to sizes smaller than its original size, said slotdiverging in width from its front towards its rea-r end.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix 'my signature.

ROY H. ANDERSON. 

